Letter from Arthur NM Banks to Paul

Title

Letter from Arthur NM Banks to Paul

Description

Letter from Squadron Leader Arthur NM Banks to acquaintance Paul concerning an incident where at RAF Foulsham where a Halifax landed on top of a Mosquito. Aircraft were from 192 Squadron conducting special operations. Halifax windowed in front of main force and Mosquito recorded frequencies used by German fighter controllers. No crew were injured. The letter is incomplete.

Creator

Publisher

IBCC Digital Archive

Date

1955-05-18

Contributor

Sally Des Forges

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This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.

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Transcription

Annex ‘C’
SQn Ldr. Arthur N. Banks
Recall of the accident and discussions with the crews who were all completely unhurt
[underlined] 18th May 1955 [/underlined]
Dear Paul
Many thanks for your letter. I am glad you have got something interesting to keep you occupied until
you can find a more permanent way of earning a living. It must have been fun to visit Helston on the occasion of the floral dance. When I was in the West Country I always wanted to see it but never managed to do so.
Funnily enough I was going to write to you about the photos I handed over to you. As I think I told you I am endeavouring to write my memoirs and I have already written a chapter about my experience in the R.A.F. during the war. I might want to include one or two photographs if they are appropriate, so don’t part with them.
With regard to the photo of the Halifax landing on top of the Mosquito I can recall a few things about it. I am fairly sure that the aircraft belonged to No192 Squadron stationed at R.A.F. Foulsham in Norfolk. The squadron was engaged on Special operations for Bomber Command. The Halifax aircraft went ahead of the main bomber force and dropped pieces of [inserted] silver [/inserted] for code named “window” which interfered with the German
[page break]
radar. The [deleted] task of the Mosquitoes was to find out the frequencies being used by Ground Control of German night fighters. They also recorded the verbal instructions used in night fighter control.
The Halifax and the Mosquito were returning from operations on a dark night when the weather had deteriorated and there was bad visibility. If my memory serves me right [inserted] the Mosquito [/inserted] had not been given permission to land in Flying Control and they both came into land at the same time. They made a good landing and no one was injured. As a matter of fact the crew of the Halifax were entirely unaware that their aircraft had landed on top of the Mosquito until they got out of the plane. It is quite a good story and I am including it in my R.A.C. Chapter.
I have had a busy time since I returned from Spain. For over a fortnight from 22nd April I was in London looking after Guy Bright’s house while he was at his flat in Alicante. Soon after I got back to Three Bridges I received a phone call from Damian Portelli who was so helpful to me in Malta. He phoned me from Hull where he is now living having married an English girl in January. He is now entitled to work here but there is high unemployment in Hull and no chance of a job. He wanted to find out if there were any better prospects in the South East. He came up to London by coach and spent three days with me at Wandsworth. My friend, Tab, took him to the job centre at Shepherd’s Bush and

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The Bomber Command Digital Archive is an initiative of the International Bomber Command Centre (IBCC). The Lincolnshire Bomber Command Memorial Trust (Registered Charity No. 1144182) and the University of Lincoln are partners in delivering the IBCC.

Unless otherwise noted, each item is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre